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Winter swimming with the Bondi Icebergs

Whatever the weather, the time-honored tradition of taking a weekend dip continues in Bondi

By Michelle Wranik
3 August, 2011

The ocean-side pool has swimmers on Sundays -- no exceptions.

Some might question the
sanity of anyone willing to swim outdoors on a cold winter’s day, but for the
Bondi Icebergs, winter swimming is a time-honored tradition.

Every Sunday from May to September, the ocean pool at the southern end of Bondi Beach is
packed with taut, tanned bodies clad in Speedos. The club’s salty, tanned
veterans swim year-round no matter the weather.

The club has held on to the constitution drawn up by its founders in 1929,
which makes it compulsory for fledgling members to do their time during the
winter season even when temperatures plummet to
single digits.

Bondi Icebergs club president Alan Gow.This initiation includes swimming in the outdoor pool three Sundays every winter month, and more than 75 times over a five-year period. Then, and only then, will
swimmers be granted the club’s coveted full membership.

On a summer’s day, the Pacific
surface can be as smooth as glass, but when the thunder clouds roll in over Bondi and
the sea swells, the pool gets a direct hit from the pounding surf.

“It can be tough when
it’s cold and raining and the weather is unforgiving,” says club president and
member of 39 years, Alan Gow.

“The body really feels those temperature differences in the water, as opposed
to in the air,” he says. “You often bob up to the surface with a lack of breath
and a cold panic going across the brow -- we call it ‘the band of steel’.”

“The hairiest conditions
are when we have a big sea combined with a high tide,” says Gow. “The
pool gets swamped by large waves. It’s what we call ‘fast water’.”

When this occurs, swimming heats aren’t cancelled. Instead, lane ropes are
removed, as are handicapping systems. When the starting gun fires, it’s every
swimmer for themselves.

Rule 15B: Thou shalt swim on Sundays

Swimmers charge for the finishing line in a Sunday heat.The Bondi club’s rules are unwavering.

Members who skip one of their required Sunday swims are in violation of Rule
15B, and must write a letter of apology to explain their absence, or risk being
“Lofterized”.

This means a moment of reckoning with Lofty Petrie, the club’s race recording
secretary.

The towering 70-year-old is a club stalwart who picked up his nickname in the
Australian navy. A lifetime member, he treats membership rules like gospel.

“If an Iceberg doesn’t swim for five years, I’m the bloke that gets rid of
them,” he says gruffly. “I record everybody’s presence every week, and if they
miss their race and don’t answer or respond by coming down personally, then
they are automatically suspended for 12 months.”

Despite his steely gaze, even Petrie too feels the bite of the cold during the
winter months.

“The older you get the worse it is, I’ll tell you that now,” he says, with a
grimace. “What I do now is jump in first before my heat starts, then get out,
just to acclimatize my body to the cold.”

The thrill of the chill

A swimmer eyes the chill of the Bondi Icebergs Pool.On a wintry Sunday morning, the average water temperature hovers around 16 C, but is sometimes much lower. Most Sydneysiders are donning Ugg boots and cranking up the
heater, but Icebergs are peeling off to their Speedos for the weekend
races.

“Be a man, not a mollusk," proclaims the membership rules, which are tacked to a wall in the club. “It’s never cold enough! You’re an Iceberg! Toughen up!”

Despite the bravado, even hard-as-nails members brace themselves before taking
the plunge.

While Sydney’s mild winters aren’t exactly Arctic, cold shock can occur in
water around 12 C: the body loses heat up to 30 times
faster than usual. The initial gasping for breath is followed by disorientation
and a reduced swimming ability.

But seasoned Icebergs reckon it only takes a minute or two to get used
to the cold, though some employ tricks of the trade to withstand the physical
shock. Some immerse themselves slowly, limb by limb. Others bite the bullet,
diving in immediately.

Former firefighter Phil Robinson, a member for 45 years and a previous club
captain, likes to double the insulation by wearing two swimming caps.

“The body is amazingly resilient to cold water,” he says. “You nearly die when
you first dive in. It tends to numb the whole body for the first 20 or 30 meters,
but if you can retain your body heat in your head, it keeps the rest of the
body fairly warm.”

It does take a bit of getting used to. Police officer Ross Graham, 30, has swum
at the pool since splashing around with the Bondi Icecubes, the junior arm of
the club, in 1986.

“When the wind is blowing, you really feel the cold,” he says. “But it keeps
everyone young and fit. It gets the blood flowing.”

“Even when you’ve been
swimming as an Icecube, we still have to do the five years,” he says. “It shows
that commitment to the club, which is important.”

Like all Icebergs, when the mercury plummets, Graham simply grins and
bears the cold.

“There is no better way to start the day,” Graham says. “It clears your head. Plus,
it’s the best hangover cure ever.”

“It’s like a can of
vegetable soup."

Bondi Icebergs

You don’t have to be a member to swim at
Bondi Icebergs, 1 Notts Ave., Bondi Beach +61 (0)2 9130 3120. Entrance to the pool is $5.50 for adults, and towel hire $3.50.
Open Monday - Wednesday and Friday: 6.00 a.m. - 6.30 p.m., Saturday - Sunday:
6.30 a.m.-6.30 p.m.; the pool is closed for cleaning every Thursday. Pool
temperatures are listed on the website www.icebergs.com.au